France has reportedly proposed Iran a credit line of $15bn to run the European payment channel with Tehran, INSTEX, as Iran threatens to reduce more of its nuclear commitments in coming weeks.
“According to three sources speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, in his conversation with Rouhani, Macron brought up the issue of establishing a $15 billion credit line for Tehran as a way around US sanctions, in an effort to meet Iran’s demand,” wrote Al Monitor’s Rohollah Faghihi in a Tuesday report, referring to a telephone conversation between Iranian and French presidents on Tuesday.
Based on the sources' information, Iran still has not responded to the proposal, the report says.
Iran's president stated on 1 August that he has received offers from a number of JCPOA signatories, though he has not accepted them because they have been “unbalanced.” However, he added, “We may reach positive results in negotiations in the coming weeks.” If not, Iran will continue to cut back on the ways it is still cooperating with the JCPOA, Al Monitor reports.
The report adds that more European companies are joining INSTEX as it keeps processing first pilot financial transactions with Iran.
"More than a dozen [mainly French and German] companies have registered with INSTEX. This is a good sign,” according to a diplomat cited by Al Monitor.
He added, “This can become a useful instrument for something more ambitious in the future,” according to the report.
Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are the latest countries that have expressed their readiness to be part of the trade channel with Iran.